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 Alistair Darling announced his budget for the first time as chancellor. Drinkers, smokers and the drivers of "gas guzzling" cars have all been targeted again. The Chancellor set out plans to overhaul vehicle excise duty and introduce a new "showroom tax" to hit the drivers of the most polluting vehicles. At the same time he put up alcohol duties by 6% above inflation in a new crackdown on "binge drinking Britain".
As a result beer will go up 4p a pint, cider 3p a litre, wine 14p a bottle and spirits 55p a bottle from midnight on Sunday. Smokers have also been hit with a heavy increase. A packet of 20 cigarettes will cost another 11p, while a packet of five cigars will cost an extra 4p.
The Chancellor also warned he would impose a charge on disposable plastic bags unless retailers took action to curb their use. Legislation will come into force in 2009 to impose taxation on single-use carrier bags if progress is not made on a voluntary basis. April 2009, Vehicle Excise Duty will be reformed to encourage manufacturers to produce cleaner cars, introducing new rate bands followed in April 2010, with no car tax being paid in the first year on cars that emit less than 130 grammes per km of CO2, with a higher first-year rate for the most polluting cars. Also the introduction of a showroom tax! His attempts to establish his eco-green credentials were hampered by his decision to defer a planned 2p increase in fuel duty. It was due to come in on April 1 but has been postponed until October 1. He was forced to slash his forecasts for economic growth to between 1.75% and 2.25% and announced a big increase in Government borrowing. He said it would rise to £43bn next year - an increase of £4.6bn on his Pre-Budget Report forecast. But he insisted he would still meet the "golden rule" - A Brown Motto of only borrowing to invest and delivering balanced budgets over the economic cycle. Mr Darling said the UK was better-placed than most to ride out the global economic crisis. Mr Darling said the inflation target for the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee remained 2%. Debt has now fallen to 36.6% of GDP. This year growth in the British economy would be between 1.75% and 2.25%, and would rise to 2.25%-2.75% in 2009 and 2.5%-3% by 2010. With immediate effect, stamp duty on shared-ownership homes will not be required until buyers own 80% of the equity in their home. April 2009 will see the child element of the child tax credit for families on low and middle income increase by £50 a year above inflation. A family with two children earning up to £28,000 a year will be £130 a year better off. A further £125m will be spent over the next three years to help families. The Chancellor said that £200m would be invested in schools, bringing forward to 2011 the Government's targets for all schools to have 30% of pupils achieving five A-C grade GCSEs. For pensioners this year's Winter Fuel Payment for over-60s to rise from £200 to £250 and for the over-80s from £300 to £400. The core purpose of this Budget is stability - now and in the future." the Chancellor said. But Tory Opposition Leader David Cameron dismissed Mr Darling's claims about the underlying strength of the UK economy. The Tory leader said: "As this country enters troubled times it could hardly be worse prepared." Mr Cameron accused Mr Darling of presiding over the biggest deficit in western Europe and the highest interest rates in the G7 group. What Do You Think? See also Fordsons View Last update : 17-03-2008 10:17
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